AUTUMN WILDFLOWER TREASURES
AUTUMN WILDFLOWERS
Autumn is not just about colorful leaves… there are plenty of flowers still blooming, well into November. Enjoy them in meadows and woodland clearing. Gather them for rustic bouquets and centerpieces. Treasure them as they give us one last shot of floral glory before the snows come.
And, if wildflowers bring your soul joy, autumn is a wonderful time to consider planting them. Grass growth is slowing, so it gives newly sown wildflower seed a chance to come through without strong competition.
Some of the most beautiful meadows, roadsides, woodland and farmland edges get their start in late September.
It’s not hard to create your own wildflower beauty. We’ve some great tips from wildflower enthusiasts to share with you. You can get beautiful wildflower seeds from specialty vendors such as American Meadows, Eden Brothers, Vermont Wildflower Farm, among others.
Wildflowers thrive best soil that is thin , well drained, and low in nutrients. But if you have soil high in chalk, limestone, acid, or clay, you can find wildflower seed mixes designed to thrive in each condition.
You will need about 2.5 grams of mixed seed per square meter or 10 kg per acre, at maximum.
It may look wild, but the plot needs a bit of taming. Aggressive prickly weeds, like docks, thistles, & nettles need to be controlled. They are hard to remove once seeds are sown.
We don’t like using herbicides, so we trick mother nature a more natural way: Score & rake the seedbed, wait a few weeks for weeds to germinate, then cultivate again to destroy & bury them.
Next, work through the seedbed and roll it out. Broadcast the seeds, rake, roll again, & let nature take its beautiful course.
Completely wild growth isn’t what you are after. That will give you a mass of scrub. For wildflower blooms, mow the meadow during its first few seasons to control annual weeds.
For Year 2, let the meadow flower before mowing. Be sure to remove cuttings to make soil less fertile, as wildflowers prefer.
Perennial weeds should be cut out. Annual weed varieties will disappear after the first season of cutting.
Monarch butterflies migrate in autumn. They are so happy to have some wildflowers to nourish their journey.
Wild flower meadows become a permanent joy, once successfully established. With proper management, they only get better with age.
Here are a few gorgeous wildflowers that bloom in autumn:
- Asclepias asperula (spider milkweed) - March to October
- Asclepias tuberosa (butterfly milkweed) - May to September
- Chamaecrista fasciculata var. fasciculata (partridge pea) - May to October
- Coreopsis tinctoria var. tinctoria (golden tickseed) - February to November
- Echinacea purpurea (eastern purple coneflower) - April to September
- Eryngium leavenworthii (Leavenworth's eryngo) - July to September
- Helianthus maximiliani (Maximilian sunflower) - August to November
- Ratibida columnifera (upright prairie coneflower) - May to October
Read more about November Treasures all this week on BeautifulNow in November Travel Treasure: Patagonia, Autumn Mind & Body Treasures, and Magical Moon Festivals: Thailand. And check out more beautiful things happening now in BN Wellness, Impact, Nature/Science, Food, Arts/Design, and Travel, Daily Fix posts.
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